When it comes to controversial neighbourhood plans, especially in Grandview-Woodlands, Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson says the city has shifted gears to listen to the public.

“Certainly with Grandview-Woodland and Marpole, I’ve said clearly we’re not going forward with the current timeline,” Robertson said to reporters at a Wednesday launch event for the city’s online public engagement tool, Talk Vancouver.

City council is expected to decide on Sept. 25 whether to extend the community plan, along with three other community plans underway in Marpole, the West End and the Downtown Eastside.

Read more: http://metronews.ca/news/vancouver/792663/vancouver-mayor-says-grandview-woodland-plan-could-be-delayed-significantly/

Great West Life has applied to the City of Vancouver to rezone a parkade at 753 Seymour Street (next to Vancouver Centre) for an office tower.

The proposal would allow for a 32-storey building with:

• 336,186 SF of office space with ground floor retail space
• 4 levels of above grade parking and six levels of underground parking
• a total density of 15 FSR (after inclusion of the existing buildings)
• a total height of 403.5 ft

More information here: http://former.vancouver.ca/commsvcs/planning/rezoning/applications/753seymour/index.htm

Stretch of Burnaby’s Hastings could get taller – Burnaby NewsLeader.

A stretch of the north side of Hastings Street could get taller now that a four-storey mixed use development is being proposed for three lots west of Macdonald Avenue.

A public hearing will be held Sept. 24 at 7 p.m. in Burnaby city hall council chambers for the application to rezone 3951, 3959 and 3975 Hastings St. which are currently home to older, one and two-storey commercial and mixed-use buildings, according to a city staff report.

The proposal, designed by Chris Dikeakos Architects [for Bosa], is for a project with commercial space on the ground and mezzanine levels with three stories of condominium apartments above. All parking would be underground with vehicle access from the rear lane.

To meet the requirements of the C8a Hastings urban village commercial district, the development would include a lighted pedestrian walkway within a statutory  right-of-way linking Hastings to the north.

And while the C8a zone restricts an individual user of a  ground-floor commercial space to a maximum building frontage of 66 feet, the report said city staff may support a future relaxation of the restriction for suitably-designed cafes, restaurants, food stores and retailers if needed.

Read more: http://www.burnabynewsleader.com/news/221662901.html